


Cotton and Feather

by MegaWallflower



Category: Naruto
Genre: Challenges, Flirting, Implied Crush, M/M, POV Uchiha Sasuke, Rivalry, Second-Hand Embarrassment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26342902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaWallflower/pseuds/MegaWallflower
Summary: Sasuke gets to see a no-holds-barred showdown between two seasoned jonin.
Relationships: Ebisu & Shiranui Genma & Maito Gai | Might Guy, Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, mentioned
Comments: 5
Kudos: 141





	Cotton and Feather

**Author's Note:**

> Set during the Chunin exams arc, after the preliminaries and before the finals.

When Sasuke came to, he was in an empty tent, exasperated and bleary and woken up by the sound muffled voices right outside the sheet walls. “Kakashi-sensei…?” Sasuke grumbled, voice thick with sleep. He didn't even remember falling asleep.

His body ached all the way down to his tired bones, and he still felt dizzy from how much chakra he’d exhausted. Eyes half closed and mind groggy from an impromptu nap, he balled his hands into fists and tried to bring them up to rub the sleep from his eyes, only to realize he was trapped in some tacky eggplant-print sleeping bag.

The physical training regimen Kakashi was putting him through was intense, but the thought of himself passing out and Kakashi tucking him into this thing was worse. He must have been so physically and mentally fatigued that he didn’t have the energy to feel humiliated about these sleeping arrangements at the time, but he hated it right now. He tried not to focus on however Kakashi had managed to tote him in here and get him into this sleeping bag. He was at least thankful that Naruto wasn’t around to see.

More importantly, there were _voices_ outside. Plural. He hadn't expected anyone to be here with Kakashi. Kakashi was so secretive, Sasuke couldn’t imagine him telling one of his friends where he would be training, even if it meant going radio silent on them for a full month. Honestly, Sasuke couldn’t even imagine that Kakashi had any friends in the first place. But no one should have been able to track them down all the way out here in the middle of nowhere.

The bits and pieces of conversation blurred together in Sasuke’s mind, faraway as a daydream. It took him a moment to make out the words.

“What? You? How’d you find me all the way out here?”

The question rang clear in Sasuke’s mind, and it startled him wide-awake. That was Kakashi’s voice, but Sasuke wasn’t sure who he could be talking to. Someone must have tracked him down. Someone who Kakashi evidently hadn’t been expecting, either.

“You know you can’t hide from me! I’m very persistent,” a voice that wasn’t Kakashi’s filtered through the entryway. “How’s Sasuke’s training going, Kakashi?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, heart pounding in his ears. Someone had tracked them down, and he was looking for Sasuke. He cycled through the possibilities in his mind.

Was it Gaara?

Orochimaru?

Itachi?

He jerked up and freed himself from the cushy binds of the sleeping bag, then crawled to the entrance flaps of the tents and nudged it open just enough to cautiously peek out.

“I keep telling you, it’s a secret,” Kakashi said in a hushed voice. He didn’t sound like he was particularly concerned about the fact that their private training grounds had been discovered. “You’ll have to wait until the finals to see it for yourself, just like everyone else. No spoilers. But I have a feeling you’ll be impressed. Just look forward to it. Don’t ruin the surprise.”

Still a little heavy-lidded from his slumber, Sasuke squinted and made out the figure standing opposite Kakashi. The first lights of dawn light streamed in, silver glow tracing the lines of the man’s frame. Now Sasuke could recognize this guy: a haphazard mix of bright, gaudy green and orange and red.

Might Guy. Lee’s sensei. Kakashi’s self-proclaimed “rival”.

 _That_ man had pursued Kakashi all the way here, in the middle of absolutely nowhere, like it was nothing. Guy grinned and struck yet another ridiculous “youthful” pose. He looked like a giant idiot, but despite misgivings, Sasuke knew better than to underestimate him.

It was strange thinking of a man like _that_ as some mysterious, unknowable opponent, but that was what he was. Sasuke had no idea about the true heights of his power were or his intentions towards Kakashi. The speed he showed off while he was effortlessly showboating in front of the three of them before the chunin exams was more than enough to convince Sasuke not to judge his power based on his unorthodox appearance. After all, in addition to probably having even better taijutsu than Lee did and having his own summon, he was also apparently a skilled tracker. That was nothing to sneeze at.

“You sound pretty confident, Kakashi! Think you’ve come into your own as a teacher already?”

Kakashi shrugged. “More of my students made it to the finals than yours, so I must be doing something right.”

The biting remark ticked Guy off enough that his smile faltered into a grimace. Sasuke could practically see a blood vessel popping on Guy’s forehead in anger. “Ugh. Is that so…” Guy said slowly, dragging out the last vowel.

“That reminds me,” Kakashi drew a deep breath, then shot Guy a long, cool look. “…It's been a while since our last match, hasn't it, Guy?"

With just those words, Sasuke sensed a sudden shift in the atmosphere. It grew heavy with something like fighting intent—lethal intent, even. He suddenly felt as though he was watching two raging storms brew.

Guy narrowed his eyes and his expression darkened. “Our battle history has been 50 wins and 49 losses. Sorry, but you're not gonna have the same number of wins as me.”

Kakashi rolled his one visible eye. “Oh, Guy. What a fool to be counting each win…” His voice dripped with exaggerated condescension. “You know what?” He brought his hand to his face and nudged his crooked headband up. The red of his Sharingan glinted in the faint morning lights. “I think I'll try being serious for a change.” A smug smirk settled into the winkles around Kakashi’s eyes as he tapped his index finger against his hitae-ate, eyes never leaving Guy’s.

Sasuke had never heard Kakashi take that tone with anyone before. Not that he was never patronizing —he constantly was. He just usually seemed to actually mean it, like he was up against people who really weren’t worth his time. He’d sigh and taunt them and pull out that book of his to pour salt in the wounds. Not now. The mood was heavy, resolute, almost fatal. Kakashi was serious. Sasuke could feel his heart race wildly, trying to keep up with the pressure in the air.

“Good! Because I have a plan to battle against the Sharingan!” Guy announced. Sasuke clenched his fists and pulled the tent’s opening just a little wider. “Win number 51 is MINE!”

“Don't think that the Sharingan is my only power.” Kakashi shrugged, the roll of his shoulders and flick of his gaze too calculated to be a casual shrug without significance and too slight to reveal any sort of meaning behind the movements. The gesture of someone at ease. The expression of someone on guard. He was egging Guy on and sizing him up, and it seemed to be working. “Besides, I know you. I know how your Taijutsu works. You don’t have anything in your arsenal that can catch me by surprise, with or without my Sharingan.”

“Even if you know my moves,” Guy struck yet another pose. Sasuke couldn’t tell if it was supposed to communicate haughtiness or preparedness. It just looked stupid. Sasuke tried to ignore it and focus on the substance of the taunts instead, hoping he could sound more intimidating than he looked. “Can your body keep up with my speed?! That’s not something you and your little party tricks can just copy! You and your fancy eyes can watch as I kick your butt!”

“Well, we’ll see.”

Sasuke’s heart hammered. He had no idea what sort of bad blood was between these two veterans. Kakashi always held back against Sasuke, always hid something. Against this man, who was his equal, who was possibly even stronger than Kakashi was, who trained Rock Lee himself, Sasuke might see Kakashi actually have to struggle for a victory.

Kakashi’s full potential in the field was still a mystery to Sasuke. He was a remarkable shot, could utilize nature release techniques with the best of them, and was reputed to be able to slice lightning in half with his chidori. Sasuke hadn’t seen him get serious since their mission in the Mist, and even then, he’d been caught off guard and off his game. Now, he looked prepared. His stance was fluid, like water, waiting to turn into vapor to evade or into ice to strike. Kakashi was being cautious of him. That was more of a testament to Guy’s power than any of his bragging.

And then there was Guy. Looking past his questionable fashion choices, it was clear from his physique that Guy was made for physical combat. While most shinobi chose their respective weapons to master and wield, Guy was evidently his own weapon, and he was polished and built accordingly, muscular and powerful and solid. And flexible, if the poses were anything to go by. Maybe he was just stretching.

Whatever a match between these two entailed, Sasuke wanted to watch.

Naruto was going to be in the finals. Sasuke needed to be faster, better, stronger, partly because Naruto was getting stronger too at an alarming pace and there was no way he could let him be stronger than Sasuke, but mostly because Sasuke would still have to be there to bail Naruto out of danger. He refused to watch that loser be killed in front of him just as much as he refused to be surpassed by him. Both those conflicting goals had been at the forefront of his mind ever since they carried out that mission in Mist. It’d be nice, not having to be saved or protected by Naruto again. And it’d be even nicer getting to kick his ass and taunt him, “Well, even though you’re such a hopeless loser, you’re lucky someone as strong as me is on your team –Guess I’ll have to carry the squad to keep you alive on our missions. Just try to follow my lead, and don’t hold me back, Naruto.”

Sasuke snickered. He could already imagine the look on Naruto’s face. He’d probably pout and glare and make that cutesy fox-face of his.

Sasuke’s Sharingan whirled to life. He rarely got the chance to see two so-called elite jonin go full force. He was out here just trying to mimic what he had copied from Lee’s taijutsu, but as goofy as he looked, Sasuke could tell Guy was much, much more powerful than his student. If he could copy high-level taijutsu techniques straight from the master instead of his genin, then dealing with Naruto would be a snap.

He was going to commit every bit of this to memory. If Guy was that confident in his ability to counter a Sharingan, there might be something to his technique that Sasuke could put to good use. If it was anyone else saying they had a way to “counter” the Sharingan, he would just ignore it as underestimating the power of the Uchiha clan’s coveted dojutsu. But this was Lee’s teacher. Sasuke was excited to see him in action.

While he wondered about what he could learn from seeing seasoned jonin in action, a thought struck Sasuke. If Guy really hated Kakashi enough to hunt him down at a time like this, was Sasuke about to watch his teacher be killed for whatever grudge he had? Was it going to be as one-sided as Sasuke’s battle with Lee had been?

Suddenly somber, Sasuke wondered how he would feel about that. He wondered if he even had the room in his heart to miss another person.

“So... are you ready, Kakashi?!” Guy shouted. Sasuke noticed with interest that Kakashi still radiated an air of cautious amusement.

Sasuke turned his attention back to the fight, deciding that whatever happened, happened.

Kakashi and Guy stood opposite, glaring at each other. Each braced themselves, striking their stances a few yards apart from one another. The silence was palpable and the tension, jagged. Kakashi’s demeanor seemed at ease, but the look in his eyes showed that he was on his guard. He was rarely that tense and alert outside of missions. His gaze was focused, but his voice was as casual as ever when he gave his belated answer, “Sure, Guy. Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Guy shifted into place, one hand behind his back and the other held flat in front of his body, beckoning his opponent to come at him. That stance was just like Lee’s. “What’ll it be? Hand-to-hand?” Sasuke held his breath. He wondered if he would be able to keep up with the raw speed of Guy’s movements in a true fight.

Kakashi seemed to mull over the question for a minute. “…Nah. I already decided on our weapons.” He reached into his mission pouch, and the easy confidence in Kakashi’s voice and movements was much more characteristic of him. He seemed like he had a plan now. It piqued Sasuke’s curiosity.

Kakashi had wielded Zabuza’s sword like he knew how to use it. He was amazing with kunai and shuriken. Sasuke wondered how good his mastery was with other weapons. He’d been wanting to learn them himself.

Kakashi dug around in his weapons pouch and produced a single unmarked sealing scroll. Sasuke didn’t recognize it. “We’ll be fighting with these today.”

“A scroll?” Guy arched in eyebrow in confusion. “That’s more Tenten’s speed, but I’m game! I taught her everything she knows!”

Kakashi sighed and rolled his eyes. “No, Guy. What’s inside the scrolls.” Kakashi held it out for Guy to see, although Sasuke couldn’t recognize any markings that would hint at what the scroll held, even with his Sharingan active. “When they come out, grab your weapons. The fight begins as soon as this seal releases.”

“A mystery, huh… Alright! No matter what the weapon is, I’m confident in my abilities!” Guy grinned, coiled and ready to pounce. “Get on with it, then! I’m sure we’re both busy men!”

“Yeah, yeah… Ready, set…”

Kakashi tossed the scroll up into the air, and it spun and unwhirled in the air. Both jonin leapt up to meet it, and as the seal released with a quiet pop and a cover of smokescreen, they each grabbed their weapons.

When the dust cleared, Sasuke could finally make out what the weapon was.

Pillows.

It had been a scroll sealed full of pillows. Sasuke grimaced and wondered if Kakashi was clumsy enough to throw out camping supplies instead of his intended weapon scroll, but neither Kakashi nor Guy seemed to miss a beat or stop to regroup. Kakashi just selected two handfuls of fat, overstuffed pillows, and Guy did the same, as if they were a perfectly normal choice of weapon. And just like that, the fight began.

There was something odd about the way they moved as they circled each other. Sasuke focused in, trying to pin it down. The steps almost looked choreographed, like they’d done this a hundred times before.

Guy took the opportunity to strike first with his so-called weapon. He snatched up a throw pillow as he spun on his heel, took aim, and chucked it.

(If Naruto was here, he’d make a stupid pun about that, but it was definitely beneath Sasuke to do so.)

The feathery projectile flew across the field and pelted Kakashi in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. Guy charged forward, nearly managing to get under Kakashi’s guard before he defended.

Guy had moved with brutal speed. Sasuke would have been sure Haku was the only one who could block that fast, but Kakashi had seen the move coming. It would have been impressive if it wasn’t being used to try get in another hit with his remaining pillow. The next time Guy attacked, Kakashi blocked even faster, moving to return the hit with his pillow. Instead of trying to block, Guy ducked under the swing, landing a jab in Kakashi’s stomach.

Kakashi’s body was forcefully flung onto the air at the impact, but he managed to use the momentum to keep rolling until he was back on his feet and smoothly dive into another counter. Kakashi lunged in a counterattack, swinging his pillow and missing Guy by a hair. Guy swung back with a huff, aiming for his head.

From there, they both moved almost too fast to follow. Sasuke really did need the Sharingan to track their movements. Kakashi was slightly slower, but he seemed to know exactly where Guy was going to hit next, and they moved around each other like a dance. It was fluid, though Sasuke could tell that they were both throwing all of their strength into the hits. Sasuke remembered sparring with Kakashi, and it had never been like this.

Sasuke looked for Kakashi’s expression, expecting aggression, anger, fear—

He could have kicked himself for not following his sensei’s advice and watching more closely. Kakashi was beaming. Kakashi didn’t smile like that so easily.

He swung and hit and went full force without holding anything back, and Guy kept up with him easily. Sasuke looked to Guy. There was something in the set of his expression that told Sasuke that Kakashi was holding back an identically cheesy expression. They were evenly matched in more ways than Sasuke had expected.

“What, is that all you’ve got? Holding back on me, Rival, or are you just out of shape?” Guy taunted.

Sasuke’s attention was drawn back to his sensei as Kakashi huffed out a laugh. “I just want to prolong your suffering.” Kakashi sounded smug, especially for a man who Sasuke had heard admit out loud while he was doing one-handed mountain climbing earlier that he had indeed let his body get weaker than it used to be. Apparently being the jonin sensei for a bunch of kids wasn’t as strenuous as his previous job.

Guy blocked another hit with his pillow. “That’s just what a man who was letting himself wear away would say!”

Guy’s sleek hair was thoroughly mussed when the same pillow he had thrown earlier was returned with a vengeance, landing right in his face to stun him long enough for Kakashi to get close enough to noogie him with a pillow. “You talk too much.”

Sasuke was silent, dumbfounded by this ridiculous grudge match between these two ostensibly powerful grown men. Guy was always goofy and weird, the few times Sasuke had met him. But this Kakashi was new to Sasuke. New in a way he hadn’t expected to see from this fight. He wasn’t more ruthless or any more capable or more cutthroat or anything that Sasuke could use or had any desire to mimic. He was just having fun. He was happy. Mr. I-have-no-hobbies-and-I-don’t-really-enjoy-anything was having fun.

Once Guy broke free of the chokehold, the jonin spent the next several minutes pillow fighting, jumping from boulder to boulder, and making a mess of feathers and cotton and fluff. All caution was thrown to the wind as they continued the all-out deathmatch with pillows. Soft pillows and agile jonin and loud giggles bounced off the stones and through the air, and even this big empty field felt too small to contain their power and their laughter. Their skill would almost be impressive if it weren’t being used for something so useless.

Kakashi finally turned the tides of the match in his favor when he launched a pillow at the other jonin with enough force to send him toppling over, clumsily, like some little academy kid who didn’t know his way around a fight.

Kakashi sat on his waist, pinning Guy under his weight in a way that he should have theoretically had no problem freeing himself from, even if Guy wasn’t some so-called taijutsu expert. But Guy just flailed.

“This—This isn’t over!” Guy fumed, face going red with emba- no, anger, definitely anger.

“Are you ever going to learn when you’re beat?” Kakashi taunted in a much gentler tone, only to be cut off by Guy’s laughter from the floor, and Sasuke realized –Kakashi was _tickling_ him into submission. These two elite shinobi had gone from smacking each other with pillows to tickling each other.

It was ridiculous and embarrassing for two grown men to be acting like that. It couldn’t even be considered a match, even though they were both short of breath from it. Guy kept laughing, refusing to concede and more frustratingly, refusing the break the hold that should have been nothing for someone who claimed to be stronger than Kakashi.

Guy kept laughing and tried to pull away, but somehow, he suddenly seemed so weak under Kakashi. So, Guy snatched a pillow from behind him and whacked Kakashi in the face. He was stunned and loosened his hold on Guy for a moment, giving him a window too slight for Guy to properly roll away. It still didn’t look like he was actually trying at all anymore. That, or Kakashi’s self-proclaimed rival was a grandstanding weakling and adults were more hopeless than Sasuke had thought.

Apparently giving up on that escape plan, Guy dropped his pillow and tugged Kakashi by the collar, hauling himself up and pulling Kakashi down to him, sealing their lips together in an awkward almost-kiss that had to be an accident, had to be a poorly planned headbutt gone wrong, and Sasuke winced at the uncomfortable familiarity of awkward, surely-unintentional kisses like that. Kakashi’s lips were even still hidden behind the mask. The whole thing looked absolutely ridiculous.

The last time Sasuke had seen Kakashi accidentally kiss someone through the mask, it had been because Naruto was a klutz and he’d pushed Kakashi right into some lady that the three genin had been trailing. He reacted immediately then –he pulled away, not blushing or fidgeting or smiling at all, and he spun at the students and glared at them, he looked almost grossed out when they presented him with a bouquet of flowers in congratulations of what was probably his first kiss. He’d looked far more disgusted by that kiss than Sasuke had been at his own first kiss.

 _A hopeless adult who can’t even imagine romance at his age and who is definitely going to die alone_ , was all Sakura had thought of him as then, and Naruto and Sasuke agreed with the assessment. A shinobi who only knew how to be a shinobi and nothing else, not a lover, not a man, not a functional human being. Sasuke didn’t think much of that stuff either, but he had his reasons and he wasn’t some old man.

But now, Kakashi’s hands fluttered, he stopped tickling, and finally he settled them on Guy’s shoulders, drawing closer to him and forcing him back to the ground. He dragged one of the pillows behind Guy’s head and tugged up the side of it as he leaned further down towards Guy, until Sasuke couldn’t properly see their faces behind the white cotton pillowcase anymore.

Using that as a golden opportunity, Guy slowly inched his hand over to where one of the pillows had dropped, then hit Kakashi in the head with it.

“Direct attack!” Guy screeched, still trying to get out from under him. He flailed around for more pillows, fingers landing on the one big, fluffy one Kakashi had been wielding earlier. He shot a smug look at Kakashi before striking him again with all the mighty force of a giant, fluffy pillow. Which, predictably, wasn’t much, but Kakashi complied and retreated, holding up another pillow as a shield.

Kakashi sputtered, trying to get a grip on the offending weapon, but Guy was relentless. He hit him again and again, and by the time Kakashi managed to rip the pillow away from him, Kakashi was fully straddling him, breath coming heavy in heavy pants.

“You little-” he started, and was cut off by Guy laughing again, even though Kakashi’s hands were nowhere near his sides this time. Sasuke could still hear the sound of Guy’s muffled laughter, even as Kakashi smothered it under a pillow. They were both puffing for air, cheeks red, raucous fit quietened down to giggles with hardly any space between them. Kakashi’s eyes held Guy’s gaze, watching his face, slowly softening at the sound of his laughter. And then, Kakashi was laughing back, and he didn’t sound hollow or unfocused like he usually did.

The unspoken shift in the air between them weighed uncomfortably on Sasuke. He couldn’t place the feeling. Kakashi and Guy both laughed and played, and Sasuke hated that the sight made his heart ache for some reason.

“Is that all you’ve got? You’re getting old, Guy… I can hit you with a direct attack, too,” Kakashi taunted in a low voice. It looked like Guy shuddered from the threat for once.

Sasuke felt something stir in his chest. The air felt charged with something unexplainable. The competitive tension between them had vanished, leaving just… whatever this was, between whatever those two were. Kakashi moved the pillow and leaned forward to “headbutt” Guy again, slowly, sneakily, giddily, like he really was just having fun with this. There was a gentle smile on his face, his hair pushed up more messily than usual so Sasuke could see the way his eyes were softened in… affection? He couldn’t see his mouth still, but Sasuke could read the other details of Kakashi’s face well, well enough to know that he’d never seen this look in his eyes before.

The expression on Kakashi’s face was something Sasuke never expected to see from him. Light but unreadable— interested, like he really saw something in Guy that Sasuke wouldn’t even name. It wasn’t the belittling, jaded interest Kakashi had displayed thus far when he watched his students practice or when he had fought them in the test. One hand moved to pull at the top of Kakashi’s mask, and as the pillow was positioned in a way that obscured both Kakashi’s and Guy’s faces again, it made the moment feel like something warm and strangely intimate.

And private.

Sasuke nearly knocked the tent over in his haste as he sprang to his feet, dispelling the old memory of Sasuke’s awful, accidental first kiss, only made worse when his imagination made him think about the times Naruto had the same stupid, cheesy, victorious grin that Might Guy had on his face right then.

He split them up by chucking a shuriken in their direction, which Kakashi airily leapt off of Guy to evade.

A flustered embarrassment flashed in Sasuke’s eyes in their red hue. And then the words were blurting out of his mouth, only very slightly pathetically, and he was looking from Kakashi to Guy then back to Kakashi, “What—What’s going on here?”

The jonin exchanged cautious glances and lowered their pillows simultaneously, gradually, as tense as if the pillows were grenades, surrounded by the debris of their battle.

“We’ll call it a tie?” Guy asked.

“How lucky for you…” Kakashi agreed, closing his scarred eye, lowering his headband back over it as Guy climbed to his feet. His mask had already been pulled back up in his original position before he’d even pulled away from Guy. Maybe he hadn’t gotten the chance to pull it down in the first place. Turning his full attention to Sasuke, Kakashi greeted nonchalantly, waving “hello” as if he hadn’t just been part of that embarrassing display. “Good morning, Sasuke. Are you feeling better now? You fainted while we were practicing last night. You had me worried.”

Sasuke’s eyes returned to black and his face fell flat, tone try and dead as he reiterated, “What are you _doing_? Why’s he here?”

Kakashi raised his palms to the sky in a shrug. “It’s not my fault. He found me by himself.”

“But of course! I am his man of destiny! We were in the middle of another one of our legendary, heated matches of rivalry!” Guy answered, pulling a new, equally corny pose. “I wouldn’t dream of cutting into Kakashi’s time with his precious student, though! We’ll call this a draw and pick up our rivalry another time!”

Sasuke’s frowned deepened until he was scowling up at the jumpsuit-clad jonin, who was still cheesing and posing like an utter tool. “A draw? You’re just giving up? No, you call that a match in the first place…? What kind of a farce of a competition is that…?”

Guy spun and stopped with a thumbs up. “It’s our eternal rivalry! The most famous, amazing rivalry in all of Konoha!”

“Rivalry? That’s not what rivalry is at all,” Sasuke grumbled. When Guy had boasted about being Kakashi’s so-called rival before, Sasuke had assumed he was lying for clout. Kakashi was a big name, who wouldn’t want to ride that fame? He wished it had been an outright lie, because whatever this truth was, it made Sasuke feel weird thinking about it. His narrowed eyes were accompanied by a suspicious cock of the head. “Are you even actually stronger than Kakashi-sensei at all?”

“Of course, I’m Konoha’s Fiercest Green—!”

“You told him you were stronger than me?” Kakashi interrupted in mock offense. “I don’t appreciate you going around lying to my students, Guy.”

“Don’t call me a liar! I _am_ stronger than you!” Guy whined. He sounded so childish again. He really was like an even bigger, lamer Naruto –but Sasuke was no Kakashi.

“Then prove it,” Sasuke demanded through gritted teeth. “Fight him for real! Not—whatever that nonsense was! Don’t you have any pride as a shinobi?! If you’re that weak willed, you’ll never kill him!” Sasuke’s voice edged higher. He must have sounded frantic, because even Kakashi actually looked surprised for a split second. It must have been satisfying for him, seeing the prideful Sasuke that had been so singularly focused on a goal that had nothing to do with Kakashi or with Guy get so rattled by the two of them, but Sasuke didn't have the energy to be bitter about it. These two were embarrassing enough as it was.

“What… Kill…?” Kakashi blinked owlishly at the strange outburst, trading sidelong glances with Guy again, before sighing and scratching his head.

Guy offered a sympathetic smile and an almost father tone, “Young Sasuke, rivalries are born of love, not hate! Kakashi and I make each other stronger. I’d gladly fight in him a more serious spar, but I don’t ever intend to hurt him. That’s not what I’ve built my strength for. Rivals are eternal. I need to use this strength to help protect Kakashi so our eternity can last a long time –and he has to be strong enough to have my back too!”

Sasuke sighed. He had wasted his time and energy expecting anything from that fight. Sasuke figured as much, but it hardly changed his outlook on the situation at all. He had a hard time imagining this grown jonin ever successfully completing a serious mission.

“Even when I was a smug little brat, Guy’s never wanted to kill me, I hope,” Kakashi muttered, lost in thought. He was curious, but Sasuke wasn’t going to ask how far back these two and their little rivalry went. “Since I would have kicked his butt back then, too.”

Guy shot him a glare and cleared his throat, like he was suggesting that they’d have this argument later. Sasuke didn’t even want to think about that, either. “Sasuke, Kakashi mentioned that Naruto had a rival! That rival is you, isn’t it? It’s the same for you and Naruto as it is for me and Kakashi! That fiery, competitive passion only he can awaken in me! I’m sure you understand!”

Sasuke bristled, cheeks hot, ears red and eyes downcast. His fists clenched at his sides. The idea that Sasuke was training this hard and getting this strong _just_ for Naruto was ridiculous. Even if he’d almost sacrificed his life without a thought for Naruto before –that was a lapse of judgement. And even if he did plan to show off the new moves to Naruto –he had more important things to use them for, too.

And even more insulting was the thought of Naruto pinning him and… acting like that? Either of them having an expression has a corny as Kakashi or Guy? He would have hit Guy for that remark if he wasn’t so outmatched in power and height.

Guy soldiered on anyway. “Your tests of strength against him motivate you and make you smile, and the thought of being without him makes your heart ache? You neither want to lose him nor lose to him, isn’t that right? Those feelings in your heart proof of your bond! That’s what a rivalry should be!” A sinking feeling in his stomach hinted at what he was about to say. “You chose Naruto as your rival because your feelings for Naruto mirror the ones that I have for Kakashi!”

“I don’t—”

“Your ears and cheeks are burning bright red with passion!” Guy interrupted, and Sasuke felt himself turn even redder. He tugged up the collar of his shirt, as if he could hide in it like that stupid giant turtle Guy had.

Guy reached out, as if to ruffle his hair, and Sasuke took a step back, mouth pulling in a grimace. He didn’t need some hopeless adult playing father for him, he didn’t need anyone telling him how he felt about Naruto, and he didn’t need Guy to touch him and feel his quickened pulse from his still racing heart. “Ew.”

“Weird, I thought I was onto something…” Guy shot Kakashi a withering look. “Rival, back me up here!”

“Well, Sasuke…” Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his own neck. Apparently, he really did intend to back up Guy’s ridiculous talk. “Look at it this way. When I first asked you what your goal was, you said that you had no dreams, and your only ambition in getting stronger was to ‘kill a certain man’…” He paused awkwardly and glanced at Guy. “But since then, you put your strength to use for things besides that. And since then, you got a rivalry of your own, too. When you were hurt on that mission and finally opened your eyes, the first thing you did was ask if Naruto was okay. You always work harder when Naruto’s working beside you… Ah, I know. When you call Naruto ‘loser,’ it rings with the same amount of affection as there is when Guy calls me ‘rival.’ You’re slowly learning the best things that strength can be used for…?” Kakashi trailed off expectantly, but if he’d expected Sasuke to try to decode that hint, he would be sorely disappointed. Sasuke was neither satisfied nor impressed by it.

Instead, Sasuke just scowled at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kakashi shrugged, placing his hands inside of the pockets of his pants. “It doesn’t have to mean anything.”

“Then stop talking about it! And I call Naruto a loser because he’s a loser, not because I—like him!” Sasuke’s voice rose to a shout. His voice cracked, as if to remind him that he was somehow the kid in the situation. His cheeks reddened again, and Sasuke reminded himself that it was only his heart burning with anger and grief and guilt and loss and absolutely nothing else, no matter what Guy had been alluding to. He deflated as he continued, trying for a more detached tone of voice, “Whatever you’re going on about has nothing to do with me. I have my goal. I’m not getting distracted by stupid things. I’m not going to pillow fight and tickle fight my ‘rival’. Unlike you two, I fight to hone my skills and get stronger. Nothing else matters to me.” The next words were pulled from between his teeth. “Unlike you, I don’t have time to play around. I have someone I want to fight for real. And you—”

“I know.” Kakashi held his hands up peaceably. It was strangely dissatisfying that he was giving up the argument that easily. Sasuke didn’t feel any catharsis from it at all. “Sorry, Sasuke. I was droning on a bit. Guy’s a bad influence on me.”

“Hey—!”

Kakashi ignored Guy’s indignation. “When you grow up, don’t be a hopeless grownup like we are, okay?” Guy pouted and muttered something like “Speak for yourself,” and Sasuke ignored him, too.

Sasuke’s expression fell back into an unimpressed glower. He figured Kakashi was just out to make things more difficult for him, and honestly, he wanted to argue and keep asserting how wrong Kakashi and Guy were. But that wouldn’t help him look any more mature or get his mind off of this. “Hmph. You don’t have to waste your breath telling me something I already know. I’m not some little kid.”

Guy’s expression noticeably softened, but the look in his eyes remained piercing. Sasuke didn’t appreciate the feeling of someone looking right through him. For a moment, Guy’s mouth pressed into a thin line, no hint of a smirk or a goofy grin to be found. “There’s nothing wrong with being a kid, you know. I encourage hard work and determination, but… those can both be double-edged sword. I learned this the hard way, but people should be aware of their limits as well. Even as you keep your goal in mind… I hope you’ll remember to take care of yourself.”

Guy averted his gaze. Probably thinking about Lee, whatever had happened to him. Sasuke had heard that the match Lee had against Gaara had been pretty bad.

“Guy…” Kakashi seemed uncharacteristically sympathetic. Concern darkened his features as he reached out for Guy’s shoulder. “You know what happened with Lee wasn’t… Um… Are you okay?”

This time, it was Guy who ignored Kakashi and his clumsy rambling, even dodging Kakashi’s outstretched hand. Kakashi sighed and returned his hands to his pockets. Sasuke really had no idea what their relationship was supposed to be. “—If you ever need a shoulder to lean on or an ear to talk to, Sasuke, I’m here!” He was back to his boisterous posing and tone, spinning around and landing on a pose with one hand on his hip and the other extended in a thumbs-up. “Even if all you need is a spar, I’m happy to take you on and critique your form! Any student of Kakashi’s is a student of mine! I helped make Kakashi into the man he is today, I’d be happy to help you, too!”

If Sasuke weren't so annoyed, he might have lingered on that. As it was, he just wanted to put all this behind him. He inched behind Kakashi and tugged his shirt. “Stop playing with your ‘rival’ and make him leave. We have to practice. I’ll probably be facing one of his students in the finals. He only came here to spy on his competition.”

“I would never!” Guy declared automatically, before stopping to think further on the subject. “Neji’s more than capable of doing that himself without coming this close if we really need to do recon—”

Kakashi cleared his throat. “How about you go check in on your own students, Guy?”

“Hmm… Right. Yes, I will!” He folded his arms across his chest, turning around and making like he was going to leave. “I especially need to keep an eye on Lee. It’s been fun seeing you two!”

Sasuke let out a sigh of relief and let go of Kakashi’s vest. In hindsight, he’d probably looked like he was trying to hide behind Kakashi. Sasuke tried not to look embarrassed again.

It seemed like that would be the end of it at least, until Kakashi whisper-shouted to Guy, “Watch over my others students for me while you’re at it, will you? Sasuke’s been worried about them. He was asking how strong Naruto was getting.”

Sasuke’s cheeks flushed red again. “I did not—!”

“Of course!” Guy’s back whipped around to face them so quickly that Sasuke thought he might get whiplash. “Don’t worry, Kakashi, Sasuke! Ebisu’s been singing Naruto’s praises! Genma told me he’s excited to see both of them in the finals! And as your rival, I’m excited to gauge your student’s improvement!”

Guy waved a cheerful goodbye and finally vanished. The way he said ‘rival’ still made Sasuke grimace.

“Those three are still gossiping together?” Kakashi sounded like he was complaining, but he looked like he was just impressed. “They’re as close as ever. I sort of hope you three end up like Guy’s old team still is.”

“Why? Did your old team not get along?”

He didn’t get an answer. Kakashi and Sasuke exchanged a glance, and Sasuke looked up to the sky, suddenly embarrassed about looking Kakashi in the eye after all that. “…I’m not thinking about some happy make-believe future like that. Every single person I loved in this world is dead. They were taken away from me. I’m not interested in playing at some stupid childish bonds like whatever he was talking about,” Sasuke spat the words out like they were something revolting. “Don’t talk about irrelevant things. No more distractions. We’re getting back to our training.”

“Maa… There’s no point getting that worked up over Guy, you know. A lot of what he says is just nonsense. When you’re as strong as he is, you can spout whatever you want, I guess…” Kakashi’s eye wrinkled shut in either a smile or a wink. “But he’s still not stronger than me. He just wishes he was. It’s a little like you and—”

Sasuke cut him off yet again, holding his hand up in a halting gesture. Whatever Kakashi had to say about that guy or about Sasuke and Naruto, Sasuke didn’t want to hear it right then. “I’m awake now. Let’s get back to training. We don’t have a lot of time before the finals. I still need to master that technique you showed me.”

“Of course,” Kakashi nodded and stretched. “I want to see the look on Guy’s face when he sees it. You want to show off to your rival too, right?”

Sasuke bit back the urge to snap at him again. Starting another argument right here was sure to drain away more precious time. He wasn’t waste a second of his limited time thinking about rivalries if that was all they were. His stomach gave a painful twist. “…Just so I’m clear, I’m nothing like either of you.”

Kakashi just smiled and said, “I guess that’s a good thing.”


End file.
